1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to wireless networking and, more particularly, to identifying MAC addresses and virtual access points associated with physical access points.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless networks are used for a variety of purposes and by many different devices. For example, computers, smartphones, and other devices may communicate using wireless networks, such as networks implementing the IEEE 802.11 standards (also referred to as Wi-Fi networks). A Wi-Fi network may be broadcast from a wireless access points (“AP”) that transmits and receives wireless signals. A wireless access point may connect to or be a part of a network router that processes network communications and addresses. A wireless access point is typically a physical device that may be identified by a media access control address (MAC address) that provides a unique identifier for the physical device. However, for network management and configuration purposes, some access points may have the capability of generating and providing “virtual” MAC addresses that appear as to broadcast from multiple access points. These virtual MAC addresses may interfere with proximity detection and location services for mobile user devices that use detected wireless networks.